The significance of the Cape trade route to economic activity in the Cape colony: a medium-term business cycle analysis

Trade is a critical component of economic growth in newly settled societies. This paper tests the impact of ship traffic on the Cape economy using a time series smoothing technique borrowed from the business cycle literature and employing an econometric procedure to test for long-run relationships. The results suggest a strong systematic co-movement between wheat production and ship traffic, with less evidence for wine production and stock herding activities. While ship traffic created demand for wheat exports, the size of the co-movement provides evidence that ship traffic also stimulated local demand through secondary and tertiary sector activities, supporting the hypothesis that ship traffic acted as a catalyst for growth in the Cape economy.Colonial trade, Cape of Good Hope, Dutch East India, Band-pass filter, Medium-term fluctuations, Business cycle, South Africa, Ships, Harvest cycles, Colonial economy

Ship Traffic and the Economy of the Cape Colony: 1652-1793

Most historians regard the Cape Colony of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as an impoverished and destitute settlement, primarily because of the many restrictions and prohibitions enforced by the Dutch East India Company, who founded the Cape settlement as a refreshment station for its ships. The mercantilist thinking of the time ensured that the free burghers in the Cape were to comply with the demands of the Company, dependent on the number of passing ships, for a market, and with little economic incentive to expand production. This assumption of poor economic performance only came to be challenged in the late 1980s. Using new data collected from the so-called opgaaf rolls (tax return records) in The Hague, Van Duin and Ross (1987) argue that, in fact, the Cape economy grew significantly through out the eighteenth century. However, these authors emphasise that local demand played the dominant role in the development of the economy and dismiss the traditional argument that passing ships were essential to the welfare of the Cape Colony. Using new empirical evidence on the number of ships in Table Bay combined with techniques from business cycle theory, this paper tests whether ship traffic had any significant relationship with agricultural production in the Cape Colony and, if so, the direction and size of association. The results suggest a strong systematic co-movement between wheat and ship traffic in Table Bay, with less evidence for wine production and stock herding activities.Band-pass …lter, Medium-term ‡uctuations, Dutch East India, Cape, Busi- ness Cycle, South Africa, Cliometrics, Ships, Harvest Cycles, Colonial Economy.

Leadership and risk : a review of the literature

PURPOSE : Even though every decision a leader makes carries an element of risk, no review on the topic of leadership and risk has appeared in highly-ranked management journals in the past 20 years. This is in contrast to the discipline of psychology in which leadership and risk receives considerable attention, particularly in the field of heroism studies. In the context of the established body of research on the topic of leadership and risk in the discipline of psychology, this review therefore explores the research on leadership and risk in highly-ranked management studies’ journals. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH : The review was conducted in five stages. During phase 1, journal rankings were used as basis to determine which highly-ranked journals to include in the review. Phase 2 focused on identifying all relevant articles in the journals included in our review. We searched for articles published from 2000 to 2021 with the words “risk” or “danger” and “leader” or “leadership” in their abstracts. In phase 3, the author analysed the abstracts of the articles in depth to determine whether the keywords were included on the basis of an explicit scholarly reflection or research on leadership and risk. Phase 4 focused on analysing articles' treatment of leadership and risk, and assigning key words and key phrases. Finally, during phase 5 key words and key phrases were clustered together thematically. FINDINGS : This study analysis yielded six thematic clusters. The first two clusters – on risk appetite of followers and leaders – are closely related. In total, 12 journal articles explored these themes. The remaining thematic clusters contain four and seven articles each. These clusters are risk, creativity and innovation; risk and failure; risk in dangerous contexts; and risk and gender. Nine of the selected articles did not fit in any of the thematic clusters. ORIGINALITY/VALUE : The review reveals a significant lack of research on leadership and risk in highly-ranked management studies’ journals. The author found that the topic of leadership and risk is approached in a binary fashion: successful leaders are viewed as using risk to drive innovation and unsuccessful leaders fail because of risk. The author argues that the heroic bias in leadership research could be partly blamed for this binarism. In practical terms, the author highlights that the growing importance of chief risk officers – leaders appointed to deal with company risk – indicates a clear need for research on leadership and risk in general management studies’ journals.https://www.emerald.com/insight/publication/issn/0143-7739hj2023Business Managemen

Four concepts of Africa

What makes the words ‘Africa’ and ‘African’ possible and useful? In this article it is argued that at least four internally coherent concepts of Africa exist, and that none of these concepts are ethically neutral. The article is presented as a contribution to attempts at using the term ‘Africa’ in self-critical, reflexive and constructive ways. It could therefore be of interest to all researchers, particularly those in the humanities and theology, who locate their research within the context of ‘Africa’. It is argued that Africa can be conceived of as a place, a commodity, a condition and an ideal. By drawing on mostly primary sources it is shown that the term ‘Africa’ only relatively recently came to refer to a continent, that Africa as a place and Africa as a condition in need of betterment formed the foundation for its commodification, and that Africa only very recently became a self-description of the people who live on the continent of Africa. Each of these concepts of Africa is shown to be based on a particular logic with both strengths and weaknesses.The Alexander von Humboldt Foundationhttp://www.hts.org.zaam201

Can MNCs be held morally responsible for the unintended consequences of their operations?

There seems to be popular consensus that multinational corporations (MNCs) should take responsibility for both the intended and unintended consequences of their operations. However, within the discipline of ethics, reflection on the responsibilities of MNCs continues to be highly controversial. In this article, we reflect on one of the more contentious issues in this debate, namely, the moral responsibility of MNCs for the unintended consequences of their operations. It is argued that at least two questions need to be addressed, namely, whether or not MNCs can be held morally responsible for anything and – should this be the case – what it actually means to hold the MNCs responsible.http://www.benafrica.org/main.htmlam201

Can we still be Reformed? A reflection on the Reformed tradition and South Africa's modernity

This article reflects on the potential of the Reformed tradition in the context of modernity in South Africa. This is of course a courageous venture: the meaning of the concepts "Reformed" and "modernity" are intensely debated and in some quarters even their usefulness is questioned. This is exactly why the argument presented in this article will not be much more than a tentative consideration. It will be done in three parts. The first part will examine challenges to being Reformed in South Africa. The second part investigates South Africa's modernity as a central challenge in more detail. The article concludes with a consideration of three impulses from the Reformed tradition that may prove helpful in the context of South Africa's modernity.http://www.journals.co.za/ej/ejour_ngtt.htmlnf201

Het kerke �n publieke rol in �n pluralistiese Suid-Afrika?

Churches� public role in a pluralistic South Africa South Africa�s diversity provides significant challenges to public involvement by churches. In some circles it is even believed that this diversity disqualifies churches from any form of public involvement. This diversity is protected by a liberal constitution and nurturing it is one of the explicit aims of the South African consolidating democracy. The German theologians Michael Welker and Wolfgang Huber typify the diversity of democratic societies as �pluralism�. In this article, both theologians� conceptualisation of �pluralism� was considered and used to set conditions for the South African churches� public involvement

Can public theology be practised beyound the state?

This article reflects on the relationship between public theology and the state. It suggests that a state-centric paradigm plays a significant role in the self-understanding and practice of public theology, and that transnationalism can serve as correction to state-centrism. It argues that these concepts complement the existing discourse on glocalization in public theology. The article investigates the role of churches in the struggle against apartheid as an early example of transnationalism in public theology. The concluding section shows that transnationalism may aid the practitioners of public theology to reflect critically on its relation to the state.http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/brill/ijpthb2013mn201

Can Christian ethics be used to engage business? A (South) African consideration

Business enterprises are in a position to exert a significant influence on society – particularly in the context of developing countries. Businesses no longer simply influence shareholders, employees and customers, but also play a role in strengthening (or weakening) political institutions and contributing to the wellbeing of other stakeholders. The result is that business enterprises are increasingly accountable to a growing number of stakeholders. In this article the possibility of utilising Christian ethics to engage business is investigated. The question is whether it is at all possible for the church to address the business world by applying its particular ethical resources, and – should this be possible – what form such engagements could take.http://www.uovs.ac.za/ActaTheologicanf201

Social ethics in South Africa : initiating a dialogue between its relevance and current status

South African biblical scholars – particularly those who focus on the Old Testament – are known for their engagement with themes that can be termed social ethical. This impulse is used as starting point to investigate the relevance of social ethics in South Africa and its current status. It is argued that social ethical reflection is of particular relevance for South Africa. This thesis is investigated in two ways. Firstly, the applicability of social ethics as academic field is examined and it is shown that post-apartheid South African political institutions, systems and processes themselves are subjected to major changes and developments – a traditional area of focus of social ethics. Secondly, the current status of social ethical reflection in theological journals based in South Africa is investigated. The article concludes by showing that the current status of social ethical reflection in South African academic theology does not reflect the perceived need for social ethical reflection.http://www.hts.org.zaam2013mn201